The Dog Stars review: Slow-burning drama pays off in the end
Ridley Scott is one of the most prolific directors around, but because he’s rather inconsistent quality-wise, you just don’t know what you’re going to get with his latest feature. How does The Dog Stars fare? Let’s find out!
Set in 2035, years after a virus wiped out most of humanity, pockets of survivors are dotted about the land, ready to defend their turf and resources from others. The film follows Hig (Jacob Elordi), a mechanic-turned-pilot who lives at an abandoned airfield with military survivalist Bangley (Josh Brolin). One day, Hig decides he’s had enough of simply surviving and wants to explore and see what life is like out there, bumping into Cima (Margaret Qualley) and Pops (Guy Pearce) along the way.
Calling The Dog Stars a slow-burner doesn’t quite sum up just how slow and quiet it is at the start. The first half hour – where we’re watching Hig and his dog Jasper on a supply run in Denver, Colorado – is actually quite boring. We don’t know who he is and what happened; we’re just following him as he goes about his business. This pace could well be deliberate – it mirrors the slow, quiet repetition of Hig’s lifestyle where not much happens (but you have to be ready for it always). It lulls you into a false sense of security.
If you stick it out, you will be rewarded with some excellent setpieces. There are two thrilling action sequences and one (almost) horror segment. I won’t divulge what happens, but they are really exciting, edge-of-your-seat moments and almost make up for the slow start. However, I fear that people watching at home will most likely switch off before they get to the good stuff because it takes far too long to get going. Some people even walked out of my screening!
The standout performance is from Brolin, who is pretty funny as the brash, no-nonsense man who has taken to the survivalist lifestyle surprisingly well. Allison Janney also deserves a shout-out for a short but memorable turn as the unnerving leader of a survivor base where the vibes are off and you’re on alert immediately.
The Dog Stars, based on the novel by Peter Heller, feels like a minor work by Scott because very little happens outside of these three setpieces, and no amount of stunning cinematography and good dog moments can make up for this. As much as I enjoyed the setpieces, as a viewer of The Walking Dead and The Last of Us, this is familiar territory (every survivor is perceived as a threat) and ultimately quite forgettable.
Overall, this is an understated, slow-burning post-apocalyptic film that ultimately rewards your patience with thrilling setpieces.
In cinemas from Wednesday 26th August